Weather-board gage and adjuster



(No Modl.)

S. H. ABSHIER 8v G. F'. LACKE.

U WEATHER BOARD GAGE AND ADJ'I'SIER.` No. 520,472.

Patented May 29, 1894.

I Ugcgfps raros.

SMITH H. ABSHIER AND GEORGE F. LACKE, OF NEWBURG, INDIANA.

WEATHER-BOARD GAGE AND ADJUSTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,472, dated May 29, 1894. Application led February 16. 1894. Serial No. 500,429. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that we, SMITH H. ABsHrER and GEORGE F. LAOKE, citizens of the United States, residing at Newburg, in the county of Warrick and State of lndiana,have invented a n ew and useful Weather-Board Gage and Adjuster, of which the following is a specification.

This. invention relates to weather board gages and adj usters; and it has for its object to provide a new and useful tool of this character which shall provide simple and efficient means for accurately gaging the Weather or lap-of the boards, and for properly adjusting the boards in position, as gaged, so that the carpenter will be enabled to accurately determine the number-of Weather boards required to cover a particular space, whereby the boards will come out true and even, which 1s a point of great importance in weather boarding, and particularly when the space between doorsl and Windows must always be properly calculated to make a neat job of Work.

To thisend the main and primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple and practicable tool that will obviate the necessity of driving nails under the lower edges of the boards while they are being fitted, cut, and properly spaced in position by means of compasses or other devices.

With these and other objects in view which Will readily appearv as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:-Figure l is a vertical sectional View of a section of Weather boarding showing our improved tool applied in operative position. Fig. 2 is a detail in perspective of the gage and adjuster. Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof. Fig. 4c is an enlargedcentral vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof with the supporting spring plate removed from the main body of the tool. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the supporting strip or plate.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A represents a substantially rectangular tool stock or body consisting of a casting of suitable size provided in the opposite side edges thereof with the vertical side grooves B. The said tool stock or body A, is attened at one side to rest flat against the Weather board against which it is placed, While to the opposite side of the stock is attached at C, one end of the looped spring handle D, the lower inner portion of which is also fastened as at c, to the tool stock or body, While the upper inner portion of the looped spring handle is hooked as at E, to form a hand-grasp for manipulating the sliding lock bolt F, adapted to Work transversely through an opening f,

.in the tool stock or body between the opposite grooves B. The inner end of the sliding lock-bolt F, is made fast to the free portion of the spring handle and the other inner end of said bolt is beveled as atf, and is normally projected into the longitudinal recess or groove G, formed longitudinally in the dat side or face of the tool stock or body, and covered bythe face plate H, which not only forms the flat rest face of the tool stock, but also incloses a pocket at the front side of the stock for the purposes to be presently described, and the upper inner end of said pocket formed by the longitudinal recess and said plate is slightly widened as at h.

The tool stock or body A, is adapted to sup-.` port for vertical adjustment the adjusting head I. VThe said adjusting head I, is provided with the parallel slide arms or stems J, projected from the lower side thereof and adapted to slide in the opposite side or guide grooves B, of the tool stock or body, and one or both of said arms are provided with a grad uated inch-scalc K, which is moved with the arm or arms at one side of the pointer L, attached to one side of the tool stock, so that the proper adjustment of the head I, can be accurately noted. VThe adjusting head Lis adjusted vertically by means of the right and left threaded adjusting screw M, the opposite portions of which engage the threaded sockets m, formed in the adjacent ends of said head and tool stock, respectively, and said screw carries the milled finger nut fm', to provide for the convenient adjustment of the head to properly space or adjust the weather boards to give the same the necessary lap, which has been predetermined. The head I, which is thus vertically adjustable, is provided with the top rest face N, upon which rests the lower end of the weather board to be adjusted in posit-ion, and at one side of the rest face N,is projected the stop lug n, to prevent the weatherboard from slipping off of the tool, While from the opposite side edge of the rest. face N, are projected the rounded spacing lugs O, the front sides of which are lined flush with the face plate I-I, so as to rest fiat against the weather board last placed in position. The adjusting head I, is held stationary in any adjusted position by means of the set screws P, Working through perforations p, in the tool stock or body and iinpinging against the arms J, while at the front side of the said head I, between the lugs O, is formed a widened pocket or recess G', corresponding to the recess or pocket G, of the tool stock and covered by the face plate Il', which is aligned with the plate II. The upper portion of the pocket which is designated as G', is somewhat wider than the main pocket, into which projects the beveled end of the bolt F, so as to provide for the ready insertion and removal of the elongated supporting plate or strip Q.

The narrow supporting plate or strip is adapted to be inserted into the plate-inclosed pocket at the front side of the tool, and by forcibly pressing the same to the-lower end of said pocket and over the outer beveled end of the bolt F, the said bolt will be pressed back until it springs into engagement with the locking perforation It, formed in the said plate or strip Q. The plate or strip Q, is provided with a curved upper extremity S, forming a finger-hold to provide for removing the plate from the tool body, and to one side of said supporting plate or strip at a point which lies above the adj usting head I, is attached the o-standing spring hook S', thickened at its lower end as at s, to form a rest shoulder, and provided with a series of engaging teeth T, adapted to engage in the upper edge of the Weather board last placed in position.

In practice, the iirst or bottom board is properly nailed in position on the side of the house, and the mechanic has then simply to divide the space to be covered by the width of the boards exposed to the weather and the result will be the number of boards required to cover that particular space, and it is then a simple calculation to ascertain the amount of lap to give, each board, which may be accurately gaged by means of the scale and pointer of the tool.

In adjusting the tool in position the nare row supporting plate or strip Q, is inserted into the face .pocket of the tool in the manner described, it being of course understood that one of the tools is placed at or near each end of the space being covered. The bdy of the tool is placed flat against the board last nailed, and the lower toothed edge of the spring hook S, is drawn into engagement with the upper edge of such board so that by a slight downward pull the teeth will en ter the board until the shoulder s, is brought onto the same, thereby gaging the depth to which the teeth enter all the boards. It will be seen that when the tool is thus positioned, the adjustable head l, will be disposed sufficiently below the upper edge of the board already nailed to allow for the necessary lap which is given tothe board being placed in position by the adjustment of the screw M. Thenew board is in this manner adjusted to a position for nailing as clearly shown in Fig. l, of the drawings, and it is then simply necessary to grasp the hook spring handle E, to withdraw the bolt F, after which the handle ofthe plate or strip Q, is grasped so that such plate or handle can be easily taken out, it being obvious that the lugs O, hold the boards sufficiently apart at the lap after being nailed to permit the easy withdrawal of the supporting plate or strip. The tool stock or body is now pulled out of engagement with the board just nailed, the supporting vplate or strip again inserted in position, and the tool positioned as before for adjusting and litting the next board in position.

From the above it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein-described tool will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and We will have it understood that changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction, may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

l. In a weather board gage and adjuster, the combination of the tool stockor body, an adjusting head mounted for vertical adjustment on said stock or body, and aseparable supporting plate having a projection at one side and adapted to be detachably mounted at one side of the tool stock or body, substantially as set forth. t

2. In a weather board gage and adjuster, the combination of the tool stock, a vertically movable adjusting head mounted on the tool stock or body, means for vertically moving said head, scale devices for the tool stock and said adjusting head, a supporting plate or strip having a supporting projection at one side and a lock device adapted to detachably connect the supporting plate or strip with the tool stock or body, substantially as set forth.

3. In a Weather board gage and adjuster, the combination with the tool stock and vertically adjustable adjusting head, of a separable elongated su pportin gplate detachably mounted at one side of the stock and said head and provided with an oft-standingsupportinghook having a toothed lower edge adapted to engage the upper edge of a weather board, substantially as set forth.

4E. In a weather board gage and adjuster, the combination with the tool stock and vertically adjustable head, both of which are provided with aligned pockets at one side, of a separable elongated supporting plate or IOC strip having a grasp handle at its upper end and adapted to be detachably locked in said pockets, and an off-standing spring hook attached at one side of said plate or strip and provided with a shouldered lower end having a series of projecting engaging teeth, substantially as set forth.

5. In a weather board gage and adjuster, the combination of the tool stock or body provided with a vertically adjustable adjusting head, and an inclosed pocket or recess at one side, a spring handle attached to said tool stock or body and provided with a movable portion, a sliding lock bolt attached at one end to the movable portion of said spring handle and mounted to have its other end normally projected into said pocket or recess, and the separable supporting plate or strip having a supporting projection at one side and a locking perforation adapted to be detachably engaged with one end of said lock bolt by the insertion of the plate or strip inv and wider than the same, a looped spring handle attached to the tool stock and having a movable grasp portion, a sliding lock bolt mounted in said tool stock and attached fast at one end to the movable portion of the hanj dle and provided with an opposite beveled end projected into said recess or groove of the stock, and a separable supporting plate or strip having a toothed projection at one side and a locking perforation adapted to be detachably engaged with the beveled end of the lock bolt by the insertion of the plate or strip into the aligned plate-inclosed recesses or grooves, substantially as set forth.

7. In a weather board gage and adjuster, the combination with the tool stock or body provided in its opposite side edges With lon g1- tudinally extending side grooves B, and a threaded socket in its upper end, a vertlcally adjustable head provided with parallel slide arms orstems J, projected from the lower side thereof and adapted to slide in the opposite side grooves B, and a threaded socket in its lower side, an adjusting screw engaging respectively the socket in the stock or body and in the head, set screws working through the stock or body against said slide arms or stems, and a separable supporting plate or strip detachably mounted at one side of the tool stocker body and said head, substantially as set forth.

8. In a weather board gage and adjuster,

the combination of the tool stock or body, the

vertically adj ustable ad justing-head mounted on said stock or body and having a top rest face, rounded spacing lugs at one side edge of said rest face-and a single stop lug at the oppositev side edge of said face, and a separa- 'ble supporting plate or strip detachably mounted at one side of the tool stock and said head, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

SMITH H. ABSHIER. GEORGE F. LACKE;

Witnesses:

J. S. SEYBOLD, LoUIs E. FRIcKE. 

